Friends of Freedom

A private newsletter for the supporters of the Canadian Free Speech League, dealing in cases
of the censorship and persecution of political, religious, and historical opinion.
“When a great lawyer dies, for years the light he leaves behind him, lies on the paths of other lawyers.” -- from a comment
about Doug Christie, Canadian Lawyer Magazine

Box 101, 255 Menzies Street
Victoria, B.C. V8V 2G6
Western Canada
March 2013
email: kzubko@shaw.ca
Doug Christie
1946-2013
R.I.P.
It breaks my heart that for the
first time since I started this news-
letter 28 years ago, I am writing to
you without being able to consult
and discuss the contents with Doug,
but I know that he would want me
to tell you about his last battle.
He passed away of metastatic
liver cancer on March 11, 2013, at
about 4:30 p.m. in the presence of
me, his partner of 31 years, our
children Cadeyrn and Kalonica, and
his sister Jane. It is hard to realize
that as recently as February 20th,
he was hard at work defending his
last client in a jury trial, struggling
against increasing pain and nausea
trying desperately to complete the
trial, and uphold his commitment as cer, Victoria, March 11, 2013.
a defence lawyer. He told the prose-
cutor that he wanted to complete
the trial, if it was the last thing he’d Keltie Zubko, son Cadeyrn, daugh-
do.
On February 21st, the trial was and Myna Cryderman, brother Neil,
adjourned so that I could take him
to emergency as the pain was too
great and taking the pain killers, he
feared, would impair his ability to
act for his client. Later that day,
after tests, he was diagnosed with
innumerable metastases that were
spread throughout his liver. The
doctors at that time estimated he
had maybe six months to live. He
was admitted to the hospital and
testing to discover the source of
these mets began in hopes of treat-
ing the tumour from which they
originated; they were apparently
not from the prostate cancer that
he’d been diagnosed with in May
2011. The source was never found,
and so he started the process of
winding up his law practice and
putting his affairs in order.
Sadly for all of us, the cancer
progressed so quickly that he de-
clined first day by day and then
hourly, until he passed away within
19 days of being admitted to the
hospital.
Doug's Obituary
Born, Winnipeg, April 24,
1946, died of metastatic liver can-
Predeceased by his mother
Norma in 2008. Survived by wife
ter Kalonica, sisters Jane Christie
father Douglas, and the extended
Zubko family.
Doug graduated with a double
major in political science and phi-
losophy from the University of
Winnipeg in 1967. He moved to
Vancouver where he graduated in
law from UBC in 1970. He has
lived in Victoria, B.C. since 1970,
where he has maintained a sole pro-
prietorship law practice in an age of
large legal corporations, occupying
a humble office the size of two
parking spaces across from the
courthouse. His practice initially fo-
cused on criminal law, but he later
developed a deeply passionate in-
terest in freedom of expression and
civil liberties. Throughout his life
as a lawyer, he embodied the true
spirit of “pro bono publico” often
representing clients of little means
to ensure they had a voice. He was
a born defense lawyer, brilliant
cross-examiner, and tenacious
arguer.
As Canada’s most prolific de-
fender of free speech, he appeared
in the Supreme Court of Canada for
this issue more times than any other
counsel in Canada, to date.
He defended the landmark cases
of Keegstra, Zundel, Malcolm
Ross, John Ross Taylor, Canadian
Liberty Net, and Finta, all before
the Supreme Court of Canada.
Doug also appeared in the Old
Bailey and the Court of Appeal in
London, England, and throughout
Canada in all levels of court, and
his family spent much time seeing

Friends of Freedom Newsletter Page 1 March 2013

him off and greeting him at airports.
His wife Keltie worked with
him as his legal assistant during the
years before the children were born
and together they worked on the
case of which Doug was proudest.
As defense counsel in Canada’s
only war crimes trial (the Finta
case), he took part in court proceed-
ings for the defense in Hungary, Is-
rael and Canada. After a 2 year
investigation, millions of prosecu-
tion dollars and a 9 month trial, the
accused was acquitted without call-
ing evidence, in less than 2 hours on
the basis of Doug’s cross examina-
tion. After the crown’s appeal to the
Supreme Court, he was successful
in having the law severely restricted
and it has never been used again.
Up until the time of his death,
he continued to advise clients
around the world on publication and
free speech issues. Two and a half
weeks before he died, he was strug-
gling to finish a jury trial, fighting
pain and nausea, but true to his aim,
he still wanted to finish the trial to
the best of his ability. He deeply re-
gretted to the end that he was leav-
ing his clients unrepresented by his
illness and death.
During the 1990’s he built a rep-
utation as a major inspirational
speaker for freedom, travelling the
world speaking about its impor-
tance.
In 1978, he created a political
movement called the Western Can-
ada Concept, for the Independence
of Western Canada. As the major
advocate of Western Canadian inde-
pendence, he spoke in 100’s of
meetings in most little towns and
cities of Western Canada, on talk
shows, to schools and universities,
and widely varied associations. For
example, in July of 1981, he gave
March 2013
36 speeches in 30 days, travelling
throughout BC and Alberta, advo-
cating Western Canadian separa-
tion. He ran in many provincial and
federal elections, always taking the
opportunity to express his political
opinions.
Cadeyrn and Kalonica will
greatly miss his ever-present guid-
ance, encouragement, love and
support as well as the spirited argu-
ments he delighted in starting
around the table at meals. Keltie is
profoundly grateful for the great
joy (amid the challenges) of life
and work with him for 32 years.
He was a kind and humorous man
who gave freely all that he had of
his wisdom, his fighting spirit, his
off-the-wall solutions and his love
of beauty. In memory of Doug, and
in lieu of flowers, we ask simply
that you do as he always tried to
do: pass on any kindness shown to
you, to someone else.
Prayers will be held at Mc-
Call’s Downtown, Johnson and
Vancouver Streets at 7:00 p.m. on
Thursday, March 14th. Funeral
Mass will be held at St. Andrews
Cathedral, 10 a.m., Friday, March
15th, with private interment to fol-
low. There will be a reception at
the Laurel Point Inn, from 1 p.m.
to 3 p.m. All those who wish to
share their memories or who were
moved by his life, are welcome.
Condolences may be offered to the
family below.
www.mccallbros.com
The Funeral Mass
Doug’s funeral was held in the
beautiful St. Andrews Cathedral in
downtown Victoria, where he
would go to early mass every
Sunday he was home from his pro-
lific travels to court proceedings
Page 2
throughout Canada. He always
stopped beforehand to talk to Gary, a
pan-handler that he had befriended.
The pall-bearers were our chil-
dren, Cadeyrn and Kalonica, two of
my brothers, Daryl and Scott Zubko,
Jeremy Maddock, Doug’s assistant,
and a family friend, Derek Lewers.
Piper Rob Paton played Doug’s be-
loved bagpipe music as the casket was
carried into the cathedral and later
back out.
Despite the short notice, the Ca-
thedral was filled with people from all
the circles that he traversed, from law
to politics to the water polo club of
which he was president for many
years, to his clients, neighbours,
friends from all walks of life, some
coming from many parts of the coun-
try to say farewell.
It was Doug’s wish that his dear
friend Father Lucien Larre would offi-
ciate at his funeral and we are grateful
that Father Larre was able to do so,
giving a most beautiful and inspiring
service, speaking of Doug’s struggle
for freedom of speech and his defense
of his clients. “Today we are laying a
saint to rest. He fought for what was
right, no matter the threats to his life
or the number of times his office win-
dows were broken. He stood tall.”
While the casket rested at the front
of the cathedral, adorned by red roses
and his black Akubra hat, the eulogy
was given by Cadeyrn, our son. It is
reproduced below. Readings were
given by friends Ellen Lewers, Ferenc
Vindisch and Gregory Rhone. The
prayers for Doug, his family, his com-
munity and the world were read by
our daughter Kalonica and Doug’s sis-
ters Jane and Myna. Doug’s favorite
movement of Beethoven’s Pathetique
sonata was performed by his friend
Helmut Brauss. Following the cere-
Friends of Freedom Newsletter
mony, the family attended a private
interment at Royal Oak Cemetary.
Afterwards, a reception was
held at the Laurel Point Inn, in a
beautiful room donated by the man-
agement in honor of Doug’s many
years of association with the Inn
and its former owners. Pictures of
Doug’s life and adventures were
projected while an open mic en-
abled people to tell their stories
about him.
We appreciate the efforts of Fa-
ther Lucien Larre and his assistant
Ria Kaal in making possible a cere-
mony Doug would have loved. As
well, we deeply appreciate the com-
fort Father Larre gave Doug in his
last days. I have had many people
wanting to express this appreciation
directly to Father Larre, and who
wish to donate to his missions, so
his address is:
Father Lucien Larre, 128 – 145
King Edward St., Coquitlam, B.C.
V3K 6M2 or www.fatherlarre.ca
As well, I have a request of
those of you who wish to do so, and
that is to contribute to a book in
Doug’s memory of reminisences
about him.
During the weeks of his illness,
we were amazed and gratified to re-
ceive marvelous stories about how
he has influenced, helped, inspired
and touched people’s lives. These
came from all over the world, some
from people who had only met him
once, and some from those who had
never met him. Others came from
clients that he helped, people he
knew from the water polo club, or
from the pool where he swam in the
morning, chance acquaintances, and
even former adversaries. Some
were simple little stories, others
took place over years of friendship.
Sadly, Doug was not able to
hear most of these, as he was too
Friends of Freedom Newsletter
ill. It did however, make me want ever to make sandwiches and sell
to gather them into a book to in- them to his classmates.
spire others and certainly to main- Dad was called to the bar in
tain a record of his legacy. If you 1971. And even from the start, he
have such a story, I would greatly did things a little unconventionally.
appreciate receiving it. Before someone can become a law-
Please send it to: Keltie Zubko,yer, they have to article under an-
Box 101, 255 Menzies Street, Vic- other lawyer for a year. This other
toria, BC V8V 3G6, or email me at lawyer is their Principal, and at the
kzubko@shaw.ca. end of the articling year, the Princi-
ple has to declare that their articling
Eulogy student is a fit and proper person.
by Cadeyrn Christie My dad was going through his arti-
cles, and taking every chance he
Men like my dad weren’t made could to get into court. He had a
to die in a hospital. Such men are friend who was an insurance ad-
really made to die on a battlefield, juster. One day he was having
with a sword in one hand, and a lunch with this friend, and the
shield in the other. Fighting for friend had to cut short their meet-
what they believe. ing, in order to interview an insur-
We don’t have battlefields like ance claimant. He offered to take
that anymore, and so men like my my dad along with him so that they
father find other arenas, in which could continue their conversation,
they can fight for what they be- and dad agreed.
lieve. For my father, that arena was Dad thought nothing of it at the
the courtroom. time, but this small decision im-
Getting to that courtroom was- pacted the rest of his life. It turned
n’t an easy thing. Growing up, my out that the insurance claimant who
dad explained it pretty well, he said was being interviewed was actually
“we always had enough to eat, but suing a client of Dad’s Principle.
there was never anything left on the This inadvertent error created an
table afterwards.” He worked his impossible conflict of interest, and
Dad’s Principle was livid. My Dad
way through school at the Univer-
sity of Manitoba, while living in the lost his job, and what he thought
top floor of a boarding house, with was his only chance of becoming a
a broken skylight. During the sum- lawyer.
mers, he would either work on the He told me that at the time, it
railroad, or lifeguard at the Banff seemed like his entire life was over.
Hotsprings. I can’t confirm this, but It wasn’t though, because another
there is more than one story of a lawyer, Barney Russ, stepped in,
young woman, who was previously took my Dad on as an articling stu-
a strong swimmer, suddenly and for dent, and gave him a second
no reason, forgetting how to swim, chance. After six additional months
and needing to be rescued by my working for Mr Russ, Dad realized
dad. his dream, and was called to the bar
Dad went to UBC for his law of British Columbia. My Dad went
degree. Near the end of his studies, to Barney Russ, and thanked him.
and with his money almost gone, he He asked Barney how he could ever
became famous as the only student repay him, and Barney just replied,
Page 3 March 2013
“pass it on”. Dad spent the rest of
his life trying to do just that, and
standing here today, I know that he
succeeded.
I often joked to my Dad that his
most violent detractors also owed
him a great debt of gratitude, be-
cause without him, many of his cli-
ents would have gone
unrepresented, and would have been
justified in crying foul at their lack
of counsel.
To this, my Dad’s answer was
always the same. He would tell me
that everyone, no matter who they
are, or what they might have done,
deserves a defence lawyer.
My Dad was not a foolish man.
If he had set out to become rich, I
have little doubt that he would have
succeeded. Instead, he chose to de-
fend the people who would other-
wise be defenceless. He paid dearly
for this. He suffered terribly, but he
also persevered. To my dad, giving
up was never an option.
Dad was a fighter. But with all
the fights, and the friends, enemies,
and adversaries that he had along
the way, I think that people might
miss some of his most important
achievements. Dad was a fighter,
but he was also a protector, a pro-
vider, and a father. It is this last
achievement for which I respect him
the most, and it’s also something
you’re not going to read about in the
paper, so it’s what I want to tell you
about today.
Anyone meeting my dad would
have been hard pressed to not real-
ize that he had a wonderful sense of
humor. His family however, knew
just how deep that sense of humour
ran. Dad loved a good practical
joke, so much so in fact, that when I
was 12 years old, he sat me down at
the table after dinner, and informed
March 2013
me that he had signed me up for
the youth branch of the British
Special Forces. He said, “son,
you’re going to love it. You leave
in a week. They’re going to teach
you how to repel down buildings,
and jump out of airplanes.” I sat
there in shock as he went on. He
said “you get to come back when
you’re 14 for 2 weeks, and when
you’re 16 they give you 3 weeks
leave. When you turn 18 you trans-
fer into the full special forces, and
you can start working towards be-
coming an officer.” Now I don’t
know about the average 12 year
old, but I wasn’t too pleased with
this development, and I made that
pretty clear. So what did my dad
do? Well, he thought on his feet
like he always did. And what he
did next was what transformed a
relatively standard practical joke
into a family legend. He said “Son,
I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset
you. It’s ok though, because I can
bribe the recruiter, and get your
name off the list.”
My dad was also a proud
Scotsman. And he taught me how
to be a Scotsman too. I think the
most important lesson he taught me
in this regard, was how to pull
nails out of old 2x4s, and
straighten them so that we could
re-use not just the 2x4s, but also
the nails.
We always laughed at this
habit he had, of re-using old build-
ing materials that might have been
a little past their prime. But this
habit was really a result of how
much he struggled and suffered
early on in his life. He worked so
hard to become a lawyer, and went
without for so long, that by the
time he became a lawyer, he had a
firmly entrenched sense of frugal-
Page 4
ity and humility that would be with
him for the rest of his life.
With us, his family, and with his
friends, my dad was one of the most
generous people I’ve ever known. But
when it came to himself, Dad was al-
ways happiest driving a beat up old
truck, and having his boots re-soled.
I could not have asked for a braver
or kinder man for a father. He was
busy, and he travelled a lot, but he al-
ways had time for my sister and I. He
was the man who took us out to his
farm in Sooke, and spent hours build-
ing things with us and exploring. He
was the man who would get up at 6
am on a Saturday to go fishing. And
he was also the man, who at almost 60
years old, strapped on a mask, picked
up a paintball marker, and ran around
getting shot at just because his son
thought it looked like fun.
Despite how fearsome he could
appear in a courtroom, Dad was al-
ways profoundly kind to Kalonica and
I. I think it’s fairly common for a par-
ent to start counting when a child mis-
behaves. My mom would ask us to do
something and she would count to 3.
My dad on the other hand, he counted
all the way to five, and so slowly that
it might as well have been ten.
My dad and I would fight some-
times, like any good father and son
will. One of the things I remember
most about him, is that when we did
argue, you might as well flip a coin,
because it was even odds on who was
going to apologize first. My apologies
were usually because I realized that I
was wrong. His were usually because
he was willing to let me figure things
out on my own, and then step in to
help me out if I got myself really
stuck.
It’s not easy to apologize, but it’s
even harder sometimes to accept an
apology. My dad always did it gra-
Friends of Freedom Newsletter
ciously, and he never withheld his
forgiveness, even when it might not
have been deserved.
When I was 14 he took me on a
summer camping trip, where we
drove aimlessly around the Island,
checking out all the spots we’d
heard about. We ended up camping
on Buttle Lake. Looking out over
the lake, we couldn’t tell how far
across it was, but there were big
cliffs on the other side, and Dad
wanted to canoe across and look
around. Crossing the lake wasn’t
difficult, and we poked around, re-
alized that the cliffs prevented us
from going ashore, and we decided
to come back. Dad really loved our
dog Angus, and he took him every-
where, even when it wasn’t really
the best idea. This was one of those
times, and as we headed back
across this wide lake, the wind
came up, the water got choppy, and
the dog got anxious and started to
rock the canoe. I was terrified, and I
was sure that we were going to cap-
size and possibly drown. My dad
just kept paddling, and talking to
Angus to calm him down, and after
a long paddle, we made it back to
shore.
When my dad was in the hospi-
tal, I asked him if he remembered
this, and he said “yeah. Man was I
nervous.” Robert Louis Stevenson
once said that a Leader is someone
who keeps their fears to them-
selves, and shares their courage.
My father was that leader. And
looking back now, it boggles my
mind that he went through so much
that as children we couldn’t under-
stand, and throughout it all he al-
ways remained calm and collected.
He never once let his children see
the uncertainty, and the pain that I
now realize he spent most of his life
confronting.
Friends of Freedom Newsletter
My dad was a lot of things, to
many different people. We’ve all
lost something important. My
mother has lost a steadfast partner.
We have lost a loving father. His
friends have lost a comrade. His cli-
ents have lost an honorable advo-
cate. This loss is crushing, but I
take comfort in a few things that I
know: My father lived fully, he
loved freely, and he laughed every
chance he got. He provided for and
raised a family. He fought for what
he believed. He can rest now, and
no one can hurt him any longer.
March 13, the following appeared:
Most importantly of all, I know that
he is at peace. [end]
Commentary
There have been some very
moving pieces written about Doug,
and some absolutely horrible ones.
While he was in the hospital
and still able to talk, true to his
need to communicate his ideas, he
did an interview with the local pa-
per, the National Post, and had two
last radio appearances, one on
CBC's “As It Happens”
http://www.cbc.ca/player/AudioMo
bile/As+It+Hap-
pens/ID/2338818122/
and the other on John
Gormley’s Saskatchewan radio
show of February 26th available at:
http://ckom.com/ckom-podcasts.
Lawyers Weekly published on
March 26, 2013, the following
quotes from Doug in an article enti-
tled “Free Speech Advocate Dead
at 66” by Jeremy Hainsworth:
He called being defence
counsel the last bulwark of
freedom against the
resources of the state.
“Defence counsel must
place their client’s interest
and justice above their own.
It is the most demanding job
Page 3
in the world, but when it is
done right, the most
rewarding, morally, and
sometimes even materially.
It is a vocation which
demands the highest ethical
commitment of character.
“It is only the defense
counsel who has the
potential to make the
presumption of innocence a
reality and restore the
possibility of a fair fight to
what would otherwise be
nothing but a lynch mob.”
In Canadian Lawyer Magazine,
“Christie also campaigned
to remove s.13 of the
Canadian Human Rights
Act, which deals with hate
crime. Parliament last year
voted to repeal s.13, though
this still needs to be passed
by the senate.
Christie was strongly
criticized by anti-racists,
had rocks thrown at him and
his office windows were
smashed so many times he
had to board them up. Once,
someone drove a truck
through his office.
When journalist Gary
Bannerman labelled him a
“perverted monster” in
1985, he tried to sue —
unsuccessfully.
Conservative commentator
Ezra Levant described
Christie in warmer terms,
telling Legal Feeds:
“For a generation, Doug
Christie was Canada’s
leading free speech
advocate. In fact, he was
often Canada’s only free
speech advocate, which
should be an embarrassment
to Canada’s legal
establishment.
He adds: “Unlike the ACLU
in the United States, Canada
lacks a robust legal culture
of defending free speech for
March 2013
 odious people. Down in the
U.S., it’s commonplace to
see a Jewish or black ACLU
lawyer defending an
anti-Semite or a Klansman,
just to prove the point that
freedom of speech only
means something if it applies
to speech we dislike.
“Almost alone in Canada,
Doug Christie knew that it’s
better to defend free speech
in the first ditch — when the
censors come for unlikeable
people — than to defend it in
the last ditch, when those
emboldened censors come
for the rest of us.”
The local Times-Colonist wrote and the Western Block Party:
on March 11th:
In his final interview with
the Times Colonist in
February, Christie said:
“I am very grateful I had the
chance to battle for thought,
to choose what I thought was
the right thing,” Christie
said. “The power of the state
is an absolute power and like
all absolute power, tends
over time to be corrupted.”
Christie expressed gratitude
for the chance to earn his
living the way he did, calling
defence lawyers the only
thing standing between
citizens and state
oppression.
“Without defence lawyers,
you wouldn’t even need the
courts — you would need
only a police state," he said.
What is Ahead?
Doug’s Cases: Doug’s 42-year- story be told.
old law practice is in the process of
being wound down in accordance
with the strict rules of the Law Soci- you don’t want to continue receiv-
ety of British Columbia, and I be-
lieve that most of the clients have
been helped to find other counsel.
We are very grateful to Doug’s as-
March 2013
sistant who has been putting in
long hours to see that every detail
is taken care of properly, as well as
various lawyers who are helping to
take on Doug’s clients, and the su-
perlative local lawyer that Doug
asked to help him, and who is
overseeing everything with his
knowledge, skill, and great com-
passion for our circumstances.
It is extremely hard to watch
the dissolution of his practice, but
we are at least grateful that it is be-
ing done with the utmost respect
for both Doug and his clients.
The Western Canada Concept
Doug was hoping to have a con-
vention in June to find others will-
ing to take over the parties. The
newsletter has been published by
me since 1983 and I haven’t yet
decided what I will do about that,
considering how tired I am. I
would like to hear from those in
Western Canada who are interested
in either carrying on and building
them, or helping in any other way.
The Canadian Free Speech
League: Doug had planned to
spend his later years writing mem-
oirs of his cases, and had started
this process. The plan is to carry on
with what he started. I do not yet
know what form this will take,
however I am familiar with what
he intended as it was a project we
were working on together. I will
keep you informed as I proceed. It
is extremely important that his
I intend to maintain the news-
letter for the short-term, at least. If
ing it, please let me know. If you
wish to receive it by email, and
help keep the cost down, please let
me know at kzubko@shaw.ca.
Page 6
It is likely that we will continue to
have the George Orwell Free Speech
Award and Dinner, so if you are inter-
ested in attending, please keep in
touch with us, through this newsletter.
Our Thanks
I am certain that Doug would want
each of you to know how much your
support and encouragement has meant
to him over the long years of his
struggles for freedom of speech, and
freedom from state interference in the
individual’s life.
I hope that you will share your
memories of him and how he made a
difference in your life with the rest of
us so that his legacy can be preserved
and carried on. There’s talk of such
things as a scholarship fund for young
law students with an interest in free
speech, memorials and possible monu-
ments. I don’t know what will come
of any of these, but I do know that the
best and most fitting remembrance is
what each of us will do about what his
example taught us.
He truly felt that each of you was
--and is-- essential to that struggle,
and I remember how conscientiously
he would answer letters and hold in
his mind the value of every single per-
son who would do something toward
preserving freedom. I hope that you
will remember that, and act upon it.
Keltie Zubko
P.S. A DVD of Doug’s funeral
and the following reception has very
kindly been produced by my brothers
and I am going to make copies avail-
able. If you would like one, please
write me and I will send you one.
Friends of Freedom Newsletter